Why do people feel the need to be at the top of a hierarchy? The fear of the unknown makes the human race dangerous. This danger is not only a concern for other species but for the human race itself. Throughout history, humans have become more aware and informed of their surroundings. Even with this advancement humans are still ignorant and because of this ignorance humans naturally set up a false hierarchy. This false hierarchy was shown in Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor was Divine. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, all Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps because they could potentially be working for the Japanese government. With limited to no help the Japanese Americans were at the mercy of the American government to …show more content…
By not giving names to people Otsuka shows the disconnection between Americans and Japanese Americans. This is the point where ignorance plays its’ biggest role. Since there is limited to no social interaction between the Americans and Japanese Americans there is no way for the Americans to fully understand the Japanese Americans. Thus, Americans fill that gap of knowledge with anything that may justify a certain reaction. For example, after the bombing of Pearl Harbour America sent all of the Japanese Americans to internment camps scattered around the United States. Of course not all, if any, of those Japanese Americans were spies or had ties to the Japanese government, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. While in transportation, the soldiers took precautions to further that connection between the Americans and the Japanese Americans. Otsuka wrote that “he made me turn the blinds down” (). During the middle of the day the soldier did not tell the girl to lower the blinds because she was letting light in, but for the fact that to further the preconceived notion of Japanese Americans. If Americans were to look onto the train they would think to see spies and men who are potentially dangerous to the country, not grandparents and mothers with their children. This preconceived notion was fed by the initial lack of knowledge from